Our Frozen Lake, Gibbs, Not Yours
by briwd
Summary: A continuation of Your Rule 12, Gibbs, Not Ours: After Mishnev kidnaps Diane Fornell, Director Vance decides to send the Los Angeles special operations team to Washington to assist in her rescue and in Mishnev's capture. Gibbs's objections to the involvement of Kensi and Deeks (who are in violation of his Rule 12) will face in light of the challenges facing both teams. COMPLETE.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

**Office of Special Projects, Los Angeles**

Henrietta Lange took a sip of her spiced chai tea, then another, while reading the report on her laptop.

Then she took another sip, read through the heart of the report, put the cup down on the corner of her desk, and reached into the low right-hand drawer. She took out a bottle of bourbon and a glass, put both on the desk right in front of the laptop's keyboard, considered putting glass and bottle back in the drawer and throwing away the key, then looked back at her screen.

Hetty read through the last four paragraphs - again. Then, she poured her glass to the rim, and took a drink, then another, and another.

"Bugger," she said to herself, focusing on the last graph.

She, of course, had seen Granger from the time he parked his car in one of his usual spaces near the building, then as he walked in through the main entrance, and all the way to her desk.

"Henrietta, it's two o'clock in the afternoon," said Granger, standing in front of her desk. Hetty, staring at the screen - and having emptied half her glass already - saw him in the corner of her eye.

"To be precise, Owen, it's two minutes after two o'clock," she replied. "That is according to the U.S. Naval Observatory's Master Clock."

Granger saw Hetty staring at her laptop. He didn't have to guess what had her attention - and had her taking a drink in mid-afternoon. "I see you spoke with Director Vance."

"Not only did I speak with Leon," she said, looking up at Granger, "I read the report the Secretary of Defense sent on the case the Washington team is assisting on."

"Red Team is on its way to assist," Granger said, pulling up a seat to the side of Hetty's desk. "I'm actually less-than-impressed that the 'great Leroy Jethro Gibbs' would think to pawn San Diego or Bremerton off on us, and forget about Red, Blue and Green."

"All of those teams operate out of Georgia and rarely interact with Washington," Hetty said. "It is not out of the realm of possibility that Jethro, only hearing of them in passing, wouldn't have thought of them when suggesting alternatives for our case."

Granger detected a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

"Are you suggesting that Gibbs forgot about a critical part of agency operations?" Granger said, with more than a hint of sarcasm. "He's supposed to know everything."

"A convenient myth," replied Hetty, "that isn't far from the truth." She put her bourbon glass aside, and picked up her cup of tea.

"I wonder what his play is," Granger mused. "I'd expect him to put the screws to Director Vance, or even appeal to one of us. Going over Vance and SecNav's heads wasn't the right move."

"Perhaps he expects to avoid the consequences," Hetty said, sipping her tea.

"There'll be consequences for this. Muted, but he won't get away completely scot-free," Granger said. "Brennan from Homeland told Porter he'd send some agents our way."

"I am told they'll be here by this evening," said Hetty, and Granger wondered - not for the first time - if she was the one who was omniscient.

"I came here partly to debrief Callen and the rest about the op," Granger said. "I didn't see any of them at their desks when I walked in."

"Mr. Hanna and Michelle are spending some personal time together; he will be here by seven," Hetty said. "Mr. Callen, Ms. Blye and Mr. Deeks should be landing in Washington about now."

Granger decided he needed a drink - then decided against it, and that it was a good thing he hadn't poured himself a glass earlier.

"Callen, Blye and Deeks are in Washington. And you didn't tell me," he said, already resigned that his operations manager had something up her sleeve; probably put it into motion hours ago; and that he wouldn't like it.

"I'm telling you now, Owen."

"How about telling me - Henrietta - why they're IN Washington."

"Mr. Callen will return, although he likely will have to sit in on the op debrief electronically."

"I expect that Blye and Deeks will be with him, and that this is nothing more than a quick sightseeing trip at government expense."

"Oh, Owen," said Hetty, sipping her tea. "I would never abuse federal or military resources like that."

"Then why on Earth are three of our agents who are about to participate in an important operation on the other side of the country," Granger said, evenly, and firmly, "especially since we both know Gibbs doesn't want them anywhere near his team?!"

"Because I told Leon I would send him Ms. Blye and Mr. Deeks to assist Jethro and his team."

Granger looked away, to the side. I should've seen that coming, he thought.

"Leon and I discussed it," Hetty continued. "All Secretary Glassberg said was that the Washington team could not leave D.C. The Secretary said nothing against NCIS agents from outside Washington coming in to assist...Owen, I would have expected Leon to tell you this."

Granger put his hand on his chin, trying to figure out who told what to who and where things broke down.

"Owen, is there something you're not telling me?" Hetty said, putting her cup to the side of the desk.

Granger leaned in towards Hetty, hands clasped and elbows on his knees.

"You must've spoken to the director before it went down," he said. "Henrietta, you just sent your people into a minefield, and if you're lucky, Vance will have told the pilot not to let them off the plane, refuel and get the hell back here."

"Owen, what is going on?" Hetty insisted, while typing a quick note on her Lync to Nell and Eric: **SEND ME SITREP AT NAVY YARD ASAP**. She hated being left in the dark, and never stayed there even for an instant.

Granger told her, and Hetty reached for her glass of bourbon, drank the rest of it down, then reached back into her desk and took out another glass, putting it in front of Granger.

"Bugger," she said in response, pouring her's and Granger's glasses full.

This was going to be a long, long week.


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

**OSP**

**DIANE FORNELL, FORMER WIFE OF LEROY JETHRO GIBBS, KIDNAPPED; SUSPECT IS SERGEI MISHNEV. CHECK YOUR EMAIL**

**NELL**

The Lync message on Hetty's laptop came after Granger filled her in on what he knew about the situation: Gibbs's team had been recalled to investigate a series of crimes that resembled murders in their past cases. At the same time, Gibbs' second wife*, Diane Fornell, and his third wife, Rebecca Chase, arrived at a crime scene to discuss a personal matter with Gibbs. Shortly afterwards, Diane Fornell was kidnapped by a Russian mercenary whom Gibbs had encountered in September.

For the moment, the agenda was to gather intelligence on the situation, beginning with contacting Vance in Washington.

The director was ahead of them.

"Hetty...Assistant Director Granger," said a breathless Eric Beale, having sprinted down the stairs from the Operations Center. "Director Vance is on line. Says it's urgent he speak with you both."

Ops Center

"Leon," said Hetty to the image of Vance on the big screen. "What do you know." At Vance's behest, only she and Granger were in Ops, which was currently on lockdown.

"Diane Gibbs Sterling Fornell was kidnapped," Vance replied. "A video was emailed to us. She's apparently alive, and unharmed. Unconscious in the video. Mishnev never showed his face but identified himself. Then he said the word 'Check' before the video ended. Hetty, check your email-"

"I've already received the dossier from Miss Jones, Leon," she replied. "I'm reading it now."

"Gibbs got a phone call he thought was from Diane telling her to meet her in Norfolk," Vance said.

"That is where one of Agent Gibbs' own agents died, nearly ten years ago," Hetty said. "Caitlin Todd."

"Gibbs was told to go to a building, across the street from the rooftop where Agent Todd was murdered," Vance continued. "When he got there, he found a mannequin, dressed to resemble Diane, standing there waiting on him. Then he heard a gunshot; the back of the mannequin's head exploded, and fake blood splattered on Gibbs. He got another phone call - Mishnev identified himself and dared Gibbs to come after him - by the time Gibbs got to the street, Mishnev was speeding away in an SUV."

"What about his team's involvement in SecDef's operation?" asked Granger.

"I pulled Gibbs and his team off Secretary Glassberg's case earlier," Vance said. "Agent Balboa had picked up their caseload, until we determined the murders resembled a number of cases Gibbs had investigated. The team was investigating a murder at a cafe, the victim's body rearranged similarly to that of former Director Shepard."

"Top secret," Granger said; to the public and most of the agency, Shepard died in a house fire. Very few knew about how she actually died.

"Granger. Hetty. I understand the importance of the Spyral op. I know you want to have all hands on deck on your end. But circumstances are leading me to believe we need some of your people here," Vance said.

"And it has nothing to do with my original reasons for sending Ms. Blye and Mr. Deeks to Washington," Hetty said.

"I was willing to let that slide, Hetty," Vance said. "Gibbs was out of line. Secretary Glassberg was the reason I didn't have a 'heart to heart' with Gibbs."

"Sir, do you want Blye and Deeks and Callen taking Gibbs' team's place on Glassberg's op?" Granger asked.

"SecDef sent me a message right before I contacted you," Vance said. "He gave his condolences, and his regrets on not being able to work with Gibbs, then indicated he would go with his 'plan B' for personnel."

"The operation, Leon, if I may be blunt, was a complete sham," Hetty said.

"And SecDef washed his hands of it after Diane was kidnapped," Vance continued. "Gibbs and his people are resolute, but it's shaken them up. So far they can't find ANY trace of her whereabouts; the last time she was seen by anyone was when she left Gibbs' house a couple of days ago. Diane was family. To them. To me. She has a daughter and is in a relationship with someone you both know: FBI agent Tobias Fornell. Gibbs and his people want justice but they can't do this alone."

"They have a damn good track record, sir," Granger said. "Even if Mishnev is another Haswari, what leads you to believe they need help. And who do you have in mind?"

"My gut," Vance said, "and observation. I'm bringing Nate Getz to Washington for a second opinion. And I don't want regular agents with them when the time comes to track down Mishnev."

"You want Mr. Callen, Ms. Blye and Mr. Deeks with them," Hetty said.

"And Agent Hanna," Vance said. "My plan is until Mishnev is caught, Assistant Director Granger will over see the Red and Blue teams operating out of Los Angeles. Blye and Deeks will stay here in D.C.; upon the completion of the Spyral op Callen and Hanna will travel to D.C., as will Beale, Jones and you, Henrietta...I need someone who can boss Gibbs around."

"Besides yourself," Hetty said; Vance smiled on screen. They both realized no one truly 'bosses around' Leroy Jethro Gibbs. "Leon, you and I both know Jethro will not take kindly to our involvement-"

"I'm not giving them just any agents, and not even Agent Pride's team in New Orleans," Vance asserted. "I want some of my best people there, to watch out for my other best team which may be at its most vulnerable. Owen, you'll get CyberCrimes assistance to fill in for Miss Jones and Mr. Beale-"

"Sir," Granger said. "With all due respect. Callen is an integral part of the Spyral op-"

"Which is why I'm sending Callen back to you," Vance said, "until Spyral ends. Then he goes east. First order is to find Diane Fornell. Then catch Mishnev. After that, we go back to normal operations."


	3. Chapter 2

**February**

**Washington, D.C.**

**Navy Yard**

At the moment, standing in the parking lot where it was two degrees Fahrenheit with minus-15 wind chill, and a foot of snow on the ground, Kensi Blye was alright.

The southern California woman dealing fairly well with East Coast winter, she thought, was the only good thing that came out of her sojourn in Afghanistan. She was bundled up, wearing layers of clothing, equally ready to get in the building and warm up or turn around and drive to some crime scene in the area.

She was fine. Deeks concerned her.

He couldn't remember the last time he had been in cold weather below 40 degrees Fahrenheit that didn't involved him chasing some perp through a freezer. Kensi, Callen and Abby Sciuto (when Gibbs wasn't around) tried to prepare him for the D.C. winters:

Abby: "It's like standing in a freezer with the air conditioning blowing on you. And around you. And in the other direction. With snow. When there's snow. If you get enough of it, you can make snow angels."

Deeks: "That like making a snowman?"

Kensi: "No. You fall on the ground, in the snow, and move your arms and legs and make a circle."

Deeks: "In the snow."

Abby: "Yeah. It's awesome and fun!"

Deeks: "Sounds like an awesome way to get frostbite on your back and butt and the back of your legs. I can do that on the sand at the beach, where it's warm and sunny and I can go catch a wave. Do they even HAVE waves here? Or do I have to go to Florida for that-"

Gibbs: "You two are going to Rock Creek Park. Dead Marine."

As she and Deeks and Dorneget worked the Marine case, she quipped that Gibbs must finally be warming up to them.

Maybe it was that talk he and Hetty had in MTAC. But all anyone would say was that he seemed more focused on the day to day stuff, while keeping tabs on the search for Diane Sterling

Maybe it was the coffee machine Deeks bought from a local superstore two days after they landed at Andrews Air Force Base - and that Gibbs made use of it as soon as Deeks set it up in the bullpen.

Maybe Abby said something to the man, that he needed to lighten up, although she had yet to speak one word about the topic to them.

He was being cordial, and seemed to accept them working together as a team. But whether it was the curt greeting he gave them at Andrews, or what he said to them the night before, Kensi and Deeks knew he didn't apply of them breaking a rule of his that didn't really apply to them - nor to anyone else outside his usual team.

For whatever reason, he didn't want them - nor the LA team - in Washington, and no one on his team would talk about why that was. Apparently, they kept Director Vance out of the loop on that, too - he got shut down twice by Gibbs when he brought up the subject.

On the other hand, Gibbs wasn't objecting to them staying around.

_Small victories,_ thought Kensi, as she looked around for Deeks. _Where in heck was he? _He was supposed to meet her in the parking lot.

She looked around, and saw what could only be described as a very, very bundled person standing in front of the entrance. It WAS colder than usual for the area, and she could see the cloud from his breath. He wasn't moving, however, and there wasn't a security guard nor agent in sight, both of which concerned her.

_Good thing I'm early,_ Kensi thought as she approached the person. _Deeks'll have to catch up to me. Maybe he's inside._

She approached the tall person, wearing three or four of whatever people normally wore. That included coats - the person had at least two on - and she noticed the boots.

Grey, furred, like the skin had been ripped off roadkill. _Was this a homeless person_, she wondered?

"Sir? Ma'am?" Kensi said, touching the person's arm.

"Hyyy Knns" she heard the person muttered. It sounded like a male, though what he said was muffed by the three scarves around his face.

"Hello? Are you alright?" Kensi said to him. "Is there something I can do for you? Can I take you inside and get you warm?"

The man moved his three scarves with his double-gloved hand to talk.

"Hey Kens," he said. "I'm getting warmed up."

A moment later, she realized it was Deeks, and punched him hard on his arm; he didn't feel a thing, with the two coats, jacket, sweater and long johns he wore.

"Deeks!" she said, astonished at the sight. "What in the world are you doing?!"

"Saving my energy and staying warm," Deeks said. "Conserving warmth."

"...say WHAT?"

"Conserving warmth, SnowFern. One corpse at a crime scene is enough. Nobody wants Ducky and Palmer thawing me out in the morgue."

"Then why don't you 'conserve warmth' like normal human beings - in a building with heat, where people don't wear four layers of...whatever you have on."

"That day I went to the SuperStore in Fairfax while you and Abby and Bishop had your girl's night out? I bought two hundred dollars worth of winter clothing."

"At the SuperStore. You paid two hundred dollars for cheap clothes?"

"Thrifty, Tiger."

"Apparently you're wearing all of them, too," she replied. "Not exactly NCIS approved."

"I'm standing out here to toughen myself up, adjust to the cold."

"In...that?"

"I won't adjust standing next to the heating vents, Kensalina-"

The doors opened, and to Kensi's surprise, Gibbs was there.

"Hey Boss," Kensi said, with a smile; God only knows if Deeks was smiling. "We catch a case?"

"Not a case," he said. "Grab your go bags. You two are with me."

Before either could say their gear was in the bullpen, Gibbs handed them their go bags; neither noticed he was holding both in one hand.

"Won't need the entire rack from SuperStore either, Deeks," Gibbs said, heading toward his car. "Leave your keys in your pocket. Put the bags behind the seat...you're riding with ME."

Kensi and Deeks looked at each other, and she grabbed his four-gloved hand.

"You waitin' on somethin?" he said, following up with his trademark glare.

"No Boss!" both said, running past him towards his truck.

He couldn't help but smile; slowly - very slowly - but surely, they were starting to grow on him.


	4. Chapter 3

It was a clear, cool morning, wherever these woods were in Virginia.

Deeks thought of the comfort of his bed, and the comfort of his partner next to him, his dog Monty wandering around the house, wi-fi for his smartphone, air conditioning...at least he had Kensi, and he knew Monty was being cared for by Sam. The cool breeze moving through the woods was a nice change-up from southern California, and it was good to unplug from the web once in a while.

He knew, however, the first thing he'd do when he got back to the Navy Yard was ask Abby for his phone back.

Right now, here he was, out in the middle of nowhere, learning how to cut wood for the first time in his life. So far, he managed to miss the first piece of wood completely; spend five minutes with Gibbs reteaching him how to swing an ax; and split five more pieces down the middle afterwards.

"Yes!" Deeks said excitedly. "I'm already a pro at this...betcha Callen and Sam don't know how to chop wood like this." Deeks stacked another piece on the stand, took a swing and split the piece right in two. "Ding ding ding, 'let's hear it for MARTY DEEKS!'"

He sensed her presence before she spoke, before she started her long, slow, clap. Deeks turned, raised his arms - and ax - in triumph, and grinned at his lover. "Check this out, Kensalina."

"Nice job, Paul Bunyan," said Kensi, ending her clapping only after Deeks lowered his arms.

"You like the 'brawny' look, Kens?" Deeks said, stroking his chin. "I could grow out the beard when we get back to LA. Complete the look."

He flexed his arms, and Kensi walked over and gave his bicep a squeeze, then cocked her head and looked at him. She loved him, dearly, and was glad for a lighter moment before the uncertain conversation they were sure to have with the man who owned the nearby cabin: Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Kensi wasn't sure Gibbs would push his Rule 12 on them, but she was ready to go the distance with the legendary agent, punch for punch, if she had to.

"What?" asked Deeks, whom Kensi was sure was as ready as she was to defend their 'thing' - and go on the offensive if need be.

"Your hair is more Shaggy from Scooby Doo, Vance made you shave while we're here and," she said, giving his bicep another squeeze, "you need another 30 pounds of muscle."

"Another 30 pounds?" Deeks said, flexing for his princess. "I will have you know, Kensi Marie Blye, that I am a finely-honed, 180-pound machine of steel and sex appeal." Kensi rolled her eyes, good-naturedly. "Kensi, it is not I who needs to roid up to look like Mr. Brawny, it's HE who needs to tone down and tone up to look like ME."

Deeks flashed that smile of his, and Kensi couldn't resist wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a long, long kiss...nor letting her hands wander a bit.

"Whoa!" Deeks said, after Kensi touched a certain body part. "How many of Gibbs' rules did you just break?"

"I know we just broke twelve - again," she replied. "Probably all of them."

"Gutsy, agent Blye," Deeks said, as his hand found its way to her waist. "The boss is in that cabin, you do realize?"

"Oh, I do Deeks, and so do you," she said. "You ready to stand up to the ol' bastard, detective Deeks?"

Deeks' eyes grew wide for a moment. "Like I said, you know he's over there, right?"

"Yeah," Kensi replied. "We've worked with Granger. With - for - Hetty, for years. Gibbs might give Granger a run for his money, but he can NOT intimidate anyone like Hetty can, right?...right?...Deeks?"

"Sometimes, Kensi," Deeks whispered, "I think we may have met Hetty's match."

"No we haven't," Kensi said. "Gibbs is a lot of things - good things - but he can't outdo Hetty in the intimidation department. And he can't glare us into walking away from each other."

"No he can't," Deeks replied, then sniffed. "You smell something?"

Kensi sniffed. "Just the woods - God, it's so fresh out here - and coffee. Which Gibbs was making when he sent you out to chop wood."

"No, I smell eggs, and steak," Deeks said.

"Now that you mention it, I smell it too," Kensi said. "Smells delicious."

"You know, I should get back and try to finish this job before he's through in there," Deeks said, wrapping his arms around Kensi. "Before I do...let's see if we can break Rule 12 another minute or so."

Deeks reached down and gave Kensi a deep, passionate kiss.

"Deeks, that's taking Rule 12 and putting it thru the shredder," she whispered.

"I thought that was the last night we were in LA," Deeks said, as Kensi threw her head back and chuckled.

"Wonder what other rules of his we've broken here in Washington? For real…" Deeks added, as he and Kensi reached for each other's lips a third time.

"Rule 23, Deeks, when you drank my coffee and replaced it with that crap you and DiNozzo drink," they heard Gibbs say, three feet away.

"Sorry, boss-"

"Sorry, Gibbs-"

"Rule 6, both of ya," Gibbs said. "'Never say you're sorry, it's'-"

"-'it's a sign of weakness'," both said in unison.

"Breakfast is ready," Gibbs continued. "Put the ax down, 'Shaggy'" - Kensi chuckled at the reference, then wondered how much of their conversation the man had heard - "I'll show ya both how to chop wood later on. Right now, we're gonna eat."

"Smells delicious," Kensi said.

"Eat up," Gibbs cautioned, "cause we've got a lot to talk about after."


	5. Chapter 4

**Note**: In this story's universe, I've bent canon just a little bit in regards to Gibbs and Jenny Shepard's history together in Europe.

As the three ate breakfast inside the sparse wooden cabin, Gibbs began to open up about his past.

He talked more in those two hours than either Kensi or Deeks remembered him talking in the entire time they had known him. Even though Gibbs was talking a lot, he still wasn't one to waste words. He made his points quickly, then moved on to the next subject.

The final subject was the former director of NCIS, Jennifer Shepard, whom Gibbs had worked - and slept - with, while both were undercover in Europe.

"You slept with the director?" Kensi said, her eyes widening in shock, as Deeks chuckled at her response to Gibbs' admission.

"She wasn't the director yet, Blye, but yeah," Gibbs replied as he stepped away from the table to refill his cup with coffee.

"So what happened?" Deeks asked. Gibbs filled the cup, walked back to the table, and sat down. He looked away from them and out the open door, thinking how to tell the rest of his story.

"What Deeks said," Kensi followed. "What happened? You spent all that time together - did you two fall in love and break up?...or did she break up with you? Or you with her?"

"Yup," Gibbs finally said several moments later. Deeks and Kensi glanced at each other, mouthed 'what?', then suddenly understood what the senior agent was getting at.

"'D': All of the above," Deeks said, and Gibbs nodded.

"We had finished a mission with another agent. Jen and I had been told we were going to be taken out of Paris, sent back to Washington. I had kept my emotions close to the vest, but I was head over heels in love," Gibbs said between sips of his coffee.

"And she knew that," Kensi said.

"She knew it," Gibbs continued. "I made reservations at a restaurant, nothin' extravagant, just a quiet place to tell her how I felt about her. Instead, she pulled me aside, and we had the talk in that apartment we were living in.

"I told her I loved her, and wanted us to spend the rest of our lives together. I hadn't had time to buy a ring because of the case, but I knew there was a shop on the way to the restaurant I would stop at. Well, she let me down gently, short and sweet. Told me I didn't fit into her 'plan', and she had decided to stay in that part of the world."

Gibbs looked away from Kensi and Deeks, again out the window; memories of reuniting with Jenny after she became director, and the three years leading to her death, flew through his mind.

"She dumped you," Deeks said. "It's harsh, no matter how it's put."

"Yup," Gibbs said.

"So what does all that have to do with us? Deeks and I?" Kensi said, matter of factly. "How does that tie into 'he doesn't trust Blye and Deeks because they have a thing' that breaks one of his rules?"

Gibbs paused, then looked her in the eyes.

"Twice, in the field, there were times when we were in danger - once working with that other agent, the second with civilians," Gibbs said. "Let my emotions get the better of me. Fortunately, the agent didn't get hurt in the first case, and she shot the terrorist in the second before anyone could get hurt or killed.

"I dropped my guard. I put her above the mission, put someone else in the crosshairs, and that's unacceptable. So I decided to retire, ask her to marry me, change our lives so I wouldn't be in that position ever again...never expected her to say I didn't fit into her plans. She's not where Rule 12 came from, but she hammered it home for me."

"So," Deeks said a few moments later, "you thought I might put my partner ahead of the mission in any case we worked together."

"With you and your team," Kensi followed. "You didn't trust us because looking back, you didn't trust your younger self in that situation."

"I didn't know, plus Washington and Los Angeles aren't close enough to where our cases would usually overlap. Never had to think about it - until Leon told me we were working with OSP, like it or not," Gibbs said. "After the matter was settled, I did my homework on you two, spoke with Callen and Hetty, told Leon I wanted to see you two in action for myself."

"That's why we got reassigned to D.C.," Deeks said. "You put us to the test from the first day."

"And you passed," Gibbs said. "You're pros, both of you. You'll do your jobs. You'll look out for each other, and your teammates, in the right way. Now...finish your breakfast. After you two finish chopping that wood outside, we'll head back to D.C."

Gibbs looked at his plate, putting the last piece of scrambled egg in his fork, then looked up and saw Deeks and Kensi staring at him in shock.

"That's it?" Kensi finally said. "That's what all this was about?"

"Yeah," Gibbs replied. "And I wanted to get out here for a day or two. Spent too much time in the basement this year. Wanted to get some fresh air...and to give ya this, Deeks."

He reached over for a manila folder hidden within a small stack of folders and envelopes next to the dinner table. He handed it to Deeks, told him to open it, and watched as the LAPD detective found an NCIS agent's application and a pen inside.

"Waitin' for your signature," Gibbs said, as Deeks and Kensi noted Hetty and Gibbs' signatures at the bottom of the sheet. "You're more than ready for this job...and somethin' tells me you'll move on soon from the LAPD anyway."

"What...excuse me?" Deeks said, thinking of the Internal Affairs detective he ran into twice at the coffee shop the week before.

"Investigation's a sham," Gibbs continued.

"What investigation? Deeks? Gibbs?" Kensi said.

"The one Leon will fill you in on when we get back to the Navy Yard tonight," Gibbs said. "He'd like that signed when you get back...easier to sign on a sheet of paper on a sturdy table than in a pickup."

Deeks and Kensi had all kinds of questions, but only one was asked before Gibbs sent them out to finish chopping the wood for the cabin. "What about Rule 12?"

"What about it?" Gibbs said.

"Don't date coworkers," Kensi said.

"That's my rule, not yours," Gibbs replied. "And you work for Hetty, not me...if she's alright with it, that's not my place to decide. If I were you, I'd sign that paper and ask Vance how to get back to L.A. ASAP...he tells me Hetty's getting 'crotchety' without two of her best agents there."

Deeks and Kensi sat speechless, turned to one another, then laughed.

_-poof-_


End file.
